Right From The Start
by remneko
Summary: Fate placed her right where she needed to be so that he could live. Will this unlikely pair let nature take it's course? Or will their secrets keep resurfacing to bring them back to square one. E/B, AH, Rated M for future steamy lemons.


**Disclaimer: Twilight/all characters involved do not belong to me. **

**I apologize in advance for any grammatical/spelling errors. I need a beta, so if you're feelin up to the task, PM me ;] Thanks in advance for reading, review if you like what you see. Lots more chapters to follow.**

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><p>The brute force of 30 mph winds as you ascend from the subway is something I'll never be accustomed to. The Indian summer was long gone, fall had been seemingly sidelined, and winter's presence was making itself ever apparent. I trudged through the flocks of tourists pausing to marvel at the city's many attractive structures and monuments. I gently reminded them-with a nudge-that sidewalks are for walking, and proceeded down Lexington avenue.<p>

Working nights was only temporary, or so I told myself, after applying furiously for six months after earning my degree. It's been almost two years, and with the job market in the slumps, I reminded myself that being employed in and of itself was a blessing. The pay I earned was decent enough to afford me a ticket out of the suburbs; something I yearned for since I began school. My living situation was modest, but that was all I needed.

I made it in to work with a few minutes to spare. The emergency room was booming. A man flailed his arms wildly, and cursed the receptionist about his insurance policy and lectured her on his legal rights as a citizen. Countless babies cried, consoled by their hysterical mothers. I slid in past a man with a bloody nose to collect myself before I was thrown in to whatever this night had in store for me.

"Seems quiet tonight, huh."

My co-worker Jessica shot me an icy glare.

"What?" I held my hands up in defense. " The Q-word is only bad luck when we're having a good night. No magic word is going to change our fate tonight. Sorry to tell you."

"Oh, Bella. I can always count on you to put a smile on my face." She huffed and scurried back to her patient who was no doubt high as a kite, and attempting to rip out his IV.

It was wrong of me to toy with Jessica. She was easily disgruntled. She's the kind of nurse, patient's hate. She constantly wears the 'imonlyhereforthemoney' face. I mean, yes, the money is a big plus, but if you don't come equipped with patience and a soft spot for the not-so-occasional emotionally disturbed person trying to tackle you while you attempt to save their lives, then the job itself will kick your ass.

"Sooooooo. How was last night?" A singsong voice chided in my ear, startling me. My head snapped up and met two big brown eyes sparkling back at mine. Alice was a good friend of mine, and co-worker. After about a week of working together we started spending time together outside of work, and she's become one of the only real friends I've made since moving here. She leaned against the desk next to where I was putting my belongings.

"Nothing to write home about." I huffed. "He went on for hours about financial planning. He asked me about my 401k, and explained my best options for the future. In depth."

"No he did not." She guffawed, slapping her hand on her leg.

"You can not make this stuff up. I wish I could." I laughed, fumbling with the clutter behind the nurse's station, attempting to organize things a bit.

"I am so sorry. Hey, maybe you should try online dating!" She gasped, flailing her hands in excitement.

Alice always had boundless amounts of energy on hand. Especially when it came to my love life. Any benign event in her day turned into a perfect opportunity to set me up on a blind date. Accidentally spilt a cup of coffee on a guy in a coffee shop translated to: 'Oh my god. I met the perfect guy for you!' Needless to say, he was never perfect. And usually came with a laundry list of reasons why I couldn't even spend the night with him. Listen, promiscuity is not my thing, but a girl has needs. Mine just didn't seem to get met as often as I'd like.

I glared at her and resisted the urge to chuck my cup of coffee in her direction.

"Please. Just stop right there."

"What! There is no stigma in online dating anymore."

"That's what people say to defend themselves meeting someone online. The stigma is still there. I promise."

She sighed, sifting through her shift report, thankfully realizing that I was not going to budge on the issue.

The shift rolled on as I expected. Complete chaos, if nothing else, did help pass the time. Midnight snuck up on me and I jumped at the opportunity to take a break, even for only a few minutes. Cup of coffee in hand, I walked out the door and across the street to the park I normally spend my few free minutes at. I fumbled with my frost bitten fingers to pull a cigarette out of my pack and light it. I inhaled deeply, savoring the relaxation that followed. I justified my few vices by claiming work-related stress and strange hours. It was nice to be able to sneak away for a little while and indulge. However, some people seemed to be hell bent on ruining my Zen moment.

Across the park there was yelling between three men. I turned away and cursed them mentally; trying to savor what little resolve I had left. I was in my happy place, and I'd be damned if I let some drunk assholes take that away from me. I took another slow drag when I heard one of the men groaning loudly. He was on the ground, being kicked by another man. He lifted his arms in protest when the third man kicked him in the back of the head.

My first thought was to run. Violence, disgruntled men obviously capable of harm, danger. Those three thoughts crossed my mind as I stood up. I threw my cigarette aside and I started running right towards them. My feet betrayed my minds rational reaction.

'WRONG WAY!', reverberated through my brain, but it was too late. I was already halfway there.

I reached into my pocket and grabbed my phone. My only defense was a 5 ounce phone the size of my palm. In lieu of making the situation worse and missing the man's head by a mile, the only real logical idea came to mind.

"THE POLICE ARE ON THERE WAY FUCKERS!" I yelled with my phone to my ear, still closing the space between us. The two men's heads shot up. Apparently they hadn't seen me in my little dark corner. They both began running in the opposite direction.

My heart nearly exploded in my chest. I ran through all the possibilities of what could have just happened, and I couldn't comprehend that the element of surprise was enough to scare them away. My hands began to shake as the adrenaline high began to peak and my mind became foggy. Reality hit me like a ton of bricks and attempted to push the clouds away.

I was left standing there, staring at the writhing body in front of me. The man on the ground was heaving, one hand clutching his side, the other shielding his face. Blood spouted from what I can only assume to be his nose, although he was too much of a mess to tell. The macabre scene at my feet, though nothing new to me, was still shocking in this kind of setting. I put my phone back and knelt down next to him. I placed my arm on his shoulder attempting to ease him.

Without missing a beat his arm swung up blindly and made contact with face. I was knocked back as the sting set in. My head swam around for a minute. He didn't hit me terribly hard, but it was enough to clear my head and surely leave a mark. I felt my face flush with anger.

"I was trying to help you, you asshole!" I screamed. Of course, my valiant effort of helping this man earned me a punch in the face. What was I expecting? A 'thank you ma'am?', A pat on the back? Of course not. I backed far enough away, and pulled out my phone again.

"Hey. You know I'm working. I can't talk right now, it's cr-" Alice began rambling, and if I could reach through the phone I probably would have.

"STOP! Alice, please. Just. Listen. Bring a back board and some help to the park across the street. Some guy got the crap beat out of him." I hung up before she could ask me the hundred questions that would understandably follow that kind of statement.

My slaphappy friend on the floor kept struggling in pain, his right eye beginning to swell shut. In his defense, he probably didn't know I was trying to help, but it didn't make the throbbing in my face any less present. It also didn't make me any more likely to get within swinging range again. For all I know, this guy was a psycho who tried to hurt the other men, and they were just retaliating. I couldn't know for sure. And I was certainly going to wait until I had some back up to find out.

For now I was safe. He wasn't going anywhere. All I could do was wait.

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><p>So that's all for now. I wonder who the bloodied man is?...I'll give you one guess. Reviews make my fingers type faster. That's the truth.<p> 


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